Raj wanders off
by xenon3000
Summary: Raj leaves Leonard and Penny's apartment and thinks hard about his life.
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: "The Big Bang Theory" belongs to Warner Brothers.**

Raj looked at the electronic clock in the darkness. It was 3:14 AM.

It was an early Saturday morning, and Raj had not been able to get to sleep. There were too many unpleasant thoughts in his mind.

In the past few months, he had become more self-reliant. That was good news. The bad news was, he did not feel he was a benefit to anyone. His research seemed to be ignored and meaningless. None of his relationships with women had lasted very long. Stuart was better at caring for Halley than he would ever be. And he felt like a fifth wheel in Leonard and Penny's apartment.

He felt he would die alone. Sheldon had Amy. Leonard had Penny. Howard had Bernadette. And Raj had no one.

Raj gave up trying to go to sleep. He decided he no longer wanted to live with Leonard and Penny. He packed his things, left a note for Leonard and Penny, and headed out the door. They would be better off without him. If he could never be a benefit, at least he would no longer be a burden.

He would take his personal items to his office, get ahead on his work, and spend the next night at a motel. Maybe he would very be satisfied with his job or with relationships. Maybe he would find joy and meaning somewhere else.

 **To be continued...**


	2. Chapter 2

Raj arrived at work, and began the task of studying stars. That task no longer satisfied him. It seemed like an exercise in futility. What was the point of learning about stars that mankind would never be able to travel to? It was like looking at a travel brochure for a destination you would never reach. Lunchtime could not come soon enough.

Finally, lunchtime arrived. Raj saw Leonard, and took a seat by him.

"Hi, Leonard. Sorry I left on such short notice," said Raj.

"It's okay. You left a note, and I understand why you wanted to get away," answered Leonard.

"Yeah, I feel like a sinking ship, and I didn't want to drag anyone else down with me," Raj explained. "Maybe I should stop wasting my time trying to find a girl. Maybe I'm meant to be single for the rest of my life."

"You may be right," interjected Sheldon. "Neither Orville nor Wilbur Wright got married or had children. The same is true for Coco Chanel, Henry David Thoreau, Ludwig Van Beethoven, Simone de Beauvoir, and Queen Elizabeth I."

"Don't give up so soon," counseled Howard. "I didn't really think I would ever get married until I met Bernadette. And now I'm living the good life."

"You say that now," countered Sheldon. "Let's see if you feel the same way when Halley is as old as Raj."

"Sheldon!" Leonard scolded.

"No, he has a valid point," Raj groaned. "My parents got divorced after decades of being together. You never think it will happen to your parents until it does. Maybe couples have expiration dates like jugs of milk."

"A fascinating topic for future research," beamed Sheldon. "I will get right on designing a survey to predict the longevity of a couple's relationship."

Leonard turned on Raj. "Congratulations. You've sent Sheldon off on an ultra-bizzaro tangent and put us behind schedule on our top secret project. I hope you're proud of yourself!"

"So do I," Sheldon elaborated. "Now I have a academic purpose beyond CalTech walls."

"Now I know I made the right choice moving out," Raj muttered, standing up and walking away.

"Aren't you going to finish eating?" asked Howard.

"You guys can have what's left," Raj responded. "All three of you deserve it more than I do."

 **There is more to come...**


	3. Chapter 3

The workday ended. Raj collected his things and headed for the hotel.

He checked in, set his stuff on the floor, and sat down to think.

Although his job was not the best or the most meaningful, he did not want to quit unless he was offered a better job somewhere else. That seemed unlikely, and even if he did find a fantastic new job, he was not eager to leave CalTech or his friends. Even though Sheldon drove him crazy quite frequently, he still found Sheldon's advice helpful and liked knowing Sheldon was close by.

Maybe he could moonlight. Maybe there was a way he could work at a second job in addition to working at CalTech. It might not make his life more meaningful, but at least he would be making more money.

At that point, Raj made his decision.

He would become an Uber driver.

Now he could have a cool name to describe himself. Rajesh Koothrapali, astrophysicist by day, Uber driver by night.

The more he thought about it, the better it sounded. He could meet new people, and when they were his passengers, he could converse with them one on one. He could easily pick his own work hours, so if he had to skip a night for whatever reason, he could. If he picked up any girls, they would be asking him for his services instead of the other way around. And even if he died without falling in love, perhaps his life would be more meaningful. He might save someone's life by giving someone like Sheldon who was not very good at driving an alternative option.

Raj did not have to wait long to get his first assignment. On Monday night, he took an old lady named Julie to a local supermarket and back home. It was a big help to her, because her car had broken down and there was more room in the backseat for her groceries than on a city bus.

Tuesday brought no requests. Wednesday did.

On Wednesday, he got two assignments. The first was to take a man named James to a local baseball game. He wondered why James did not want a ride back home. The second was taking a waitress named Martha home after a really long workday. At this point, Raj decided he enjoyed being a taxicab driver better than being an astrophysicist. He enjoyed that his life was more varied and unpredictable as an Uber driver when compared with his life as an astrophysicist.

On Friday, Raj finally brought up his second job to Howard, Leonard and Sheldon. Leonard made no comment. Howard remarked, "I guess that means picking up girls has a double meaning for you."

Sheldon's response was the most imaginative. "You new job is like playing the Sega Dreamcast version of Crazy Taxi on an Atari 2600."

He gave five rides to five different people on Friday night. He wondered if Friday night would always be his busiest night. So he made a computer spreadsheet on his laptop to keep track.

After two weeks of being an Uber driver, Raj found that once again, Friday night was his busiest night. Now he had enough money to check out of the hotel and move into an apartment.

Raj got up early on Saturday, wondering what an entire day of driving for Uber would be like.

His Saturday was a day of waiting.

10:00 AM passed. No rides.

Noon. No rides.

1:00 PM. Still no rides.

2:00 PM. Finally, a ride request! And this individual, who went by the name of Kat, seemed very easy to please. He did not have to arrive to pick up Kat until 4:00 PM. Everyone else who asked for rides wanted him to be there in 30 minutes or less.

His experience with Kat would be an experience he never expected.

 **That experience comes in the next chapter...**


	4. Chapter 4

When Raj arrived and Kat climbed into the car, Raj noticed she was carrying a stack of envelopes, each envelope as big as a large sheet of paper.

"What's that you're carrying?" asked Raj.

"These are cards for all my teachers in high school," Kat explained. "I wanted to thank each and every one of them before my graduation ceremony tomorrow."

"Why not just send them e-mails?" asked Raj.

"I wanted to make them something they couldn't delete. Besides, I made these cards myself with unique three a dimensional patterns that expand as the card opens. Your job is to drive to each of my teacher's houses."

"You could have just mailed them," Raj remarked.

"I've been really busy lately. I've been working a part-time job at a law office in addition to going to school ever since my mom died last August. I never had a dad in my life, so the last few months have been really lonely."

"What about your friends?"

"I haven't had time for any friends lately. I don't think it would have been possible for me to make any anyway. It's like I live in a different world from all of them. Maybe I can meet some new people when I start at CalTech in the fall."

Raj got an idea. "I know someone from CalTech who is a neurobiologist. Her name is Amy. Would you like to meet her when I finish driving you to all your teacher's houses?"

"That'd be great!" Kat exclaimed. "I've been thinking about majoring in a medical field. Maybe she can give me some advice."

When Kat arrived at Sheldon and Amy's apartment, Kat and Amy really hit it off. Amy asked Sheldon to devise a test for Kat to select a possible major for her. When Kat took the test, it recommended she major in radiology. Amy suggested, "Maybe you could design a scanner that could allow us to see a brain in action with a resolution of 10 microns."

Amy and Sheldon let Kat spend the night, and then they both accompanied her to her high school graduation ceremony (stopping by her house to pick up her cap and gown first). Afterwards, they celebrated by eating at a local restaurant and seeing the IMAX film The Human Body at the California Science Center.

When Raj talked with Amy about how things went on Sunday, Raj felt happier than he had in a long time. His life now had a greater sense of purpose. Maybe people were like jigsaw puzzle pieces and his role in life was to bring them together. By introducing Kat to Amy, he had probably guided Kat to a more meaningful and important role than he would ever have.

In the months that followed, Kat began classes at CalTech. She decided on a dual major of radiology and electrical engineering. Her goal was to design a portable brain scanner with the same high quality imagery as a stationary MRI or PET scanner.

Raj now had a better idea of what he wanted to do with his life. He wanted to put people in the right place at the right time like he had done with Kat. When he saved up enough money by being an Uber driver, he would go back to school and become a human resources professional. By then, he would have spent enough time talking with his passengers that he would be able to talk with anyone on the face of the planet. Instead of attracting people to him, he would attract them to whatever company he was working for.

 **The End.**


End file.
